In a mark of her importance in the British broadcasting industry, most of the UK broadsheets have published full length obituaries looking back at the life of Verity Lambert who died last week.

Some of the most detailed include The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and The Independent which, as well as the article, contains a tribute from one of Lambert's closest friends, Janet Street Porter.

In addition, as a tribute, SFX have placed online the interview they conducted last year with Lambert and Russell T Davies.

BBC News have reported that Billie Piper will be returning to Doctor Who, portraying her original role of Rose Tyler.

The news was originally reported in today's Daily Mirror, which went on to say: The Time Lord, played by David Tennant, starts with Donna (Catherine Tate) as his helper, is then joined by Martha (Freema Agyeman) and then reunites with Billie's character Rose for the finale. A source said: "With Donna, Martha and Rose competing to assist him, Dr Who is going to be spoilt for choice." The paper also reported that the actress will be in at least three episodes of the new series. (also reported by The Hollywood News, Daily Record, Ananova, and Marie Claire)

The breaking news was actually reported on our very own Doctor Who Forum last night by fans present at filming in Cardiff, including photos of Billie Piper at the location. These can be found in the forum here if you really want to see them! Thanks to Brian_Damage and PMount for the reports.

Update: The official Doctor Who website has now confirmed that Piper is returning as Rose in Series 4, but adds, "Anything you may read elsewhere about when, how or for how long Rose returns to Doctor Who should be treated as pure speculation at this point."

Meanwhile, the BBC have also issued a general press release on the Christmas line-up, with the principal item being Doctor Who: "BBC One reaffirms its position as the one to watch with a formidable line-up of television's biggest and brightest award-winning stars. David Tennant stars as The Doctor in a very special edition of Doctor Who, alongside the one and only Kylie Minogue, who plays a waitress on the Titanic."

Verity Lambert, O.B.E., the pioneering television producer who was instrumental in the foundation of Doctor Who as its first producer from 1963 to 1965, died yesterday, November 22, just a day before the series' 44th anniversary.

One of the UK's foremost television producers, Lambert's role as producer of Doctor Who was pivotal at the time, as, at the age of 27, she was the youngest and only female drama producer working at the BBC. As the first producer she was instrumental in creating the universe of Doctor Who and was responsible for some of the most important principles of the series, ensuring the programme's success over the years.

After she left the programme her credits and reputation continued to rise and she became one of the best known players in the industry. She oversaw such iconic productions as Adam Adamant Lives, Budgie, The Naked Civil Servant, Rock Follies, Rumpole of the Bailey, Edward and Mrs Simpson, Reilly: Ace of Spies, Minder, GBH and Jonathan Creek.

In 1985 Verity Lambert established her own independent production company, Cinema Verity. The company's first production was the 1988 feature film A Cry in the Dark, starring Sam Neill and Meryl Streep. Cinema Verity's first television series, the BBC1 sitcom May to December, ran from 1989 until 1994.

In 2000 two of her productions, Doctor Who and The Naked Civil Servant, finished third and fourth respectively in a British Film Institute poll of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century.

In the 2002 New Year's Honours list Lambert was awarded the O.B.E. for services to film and television production. In the same year she received BAFTA's Alan Clarke Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television.

She was due to receive the Working Title Films lifetime achievement award at the Women in Film and Television Awards on 7th December.

Russell T Davies, the current Executive Producer of Doctor Who, said: "There are a hundred people in Cardiff working on Doctor Who and millions of viewers, in particular many children, who love the programme that Verity helped create. This is her legacy and we will never forget that."

It is noteworthy that a tribute from the current production team was made in the 2007 story Human Nature, when the Doctor, as the character John Smith, mentions his mother's name was Verity.

Jane Tranter, Controller of BBC Fiction, said: "Verity was a total one-off. She was a magnificently, madly, inspirationally talented drama producer. During her long and brilliant career there was no form of drama that was beyond her reach and that she didn't excel at. From the early episodes of Doctor Who to the still to be transmitted comedy drama Love Soup, via Widows, Minder, GBH, Eldorado and Jonathan Creek (to name but the tiniest handful of credits) – Verity was a phenomenon. She made the television drama genre utterly her own. She was deaf to the notion of compromise and there wasn't an actor, writer, director or television executive she worked with who didn't regard her with admiration, respect and awe. She will be hugely missed but her legacy lives on in the dramas she made, and in the generations of eager young programme-makers she has inspired."

She added: "Today (Friday) is the 44th anniversary of her first ever episode of Doctor Who."

Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, said: "In Doctor Who, Verity Lambert has left a legacy that lives on in the new productions BBC Wales has been making since 2004. We in Wales owe her a debt of gratitude for handing on such a treasure which continues to be enjoyed the world over."

Waris Hussein, who directed the first episode of Doctor Who, said "Verity was not only my producer but a lifelong friend from the earliest days when we were assigned a programme called "Dr.Who" by the then Head of BBC Drama Sydney Newman. We were both at the beginning of our careers and anxious to do the best we could. Neither Verity or I could have realized the impact of "Dr. Who" and it is with wonder and happiness that I see what we created. Directors have come and gone but I am proud to say I was the person chosen to work with Verity and we were the ones, with Sydney's inspiration, to bring the series to life. Verity's subsequent success was inevitable and I was glad to be a part of it. I directed the first episodes of " The Newcomers" and later the suffragette series " Shoulder To Shoulder" and " Edward and Mrs. Simpson" which won us an Emmy and Bafta. Verity was unique. She will leave a large vacuum in the world of Film and Television."

BBC Radio 4 have paid tribute to Lambert in the weekly obituary programme Last Word. The programme contains an interview with Jane Tranter and Joanna Lumley. It is avalable online for the next seven days on the BBC Radio player

Further reading can be found at: The Stage, screenonline, the Guardian, Variety, The Times, The Telegraph,The Herald and BBC News.

In a recent interview with BBC NEWS John Barrowman discussed his new CD,Another Side. He talked about the personal nature of some of the songs, his love of musical theater, and working under the busy schedule ofTorchwood series 2.

John Barrowman has revealed that the character of Captain Jack Harkness is returning to Doctor Who in Series Four.

There has been no official announcement by the BBC but in an interview on thisisnottingham.co.uk primarily about Barrowman's new CD, Another Side, the subject of Captain Jack is touched upon, about which he says: "I'm not in the Doctor Who Christmas special, but I come back in Series Four, which starts filming after Christmas."

(Thanks to Sarah Townsend.)

Yesterday's Daily Express reported that the actress/popstar Kylie Minogue has not ruled out returning to Doctor Who in the future. In an interview she has been quoted as saying: "It's not up to me but I know there has been talk that my character could be reintroduced at a later date. We'll have to wait and see. I've always been a fan of Doctor Who and when you think how long it's been running, it is a series that is a unique piece of television history."

As well as the UK's Express, the story has been promoted by the World Entertainment News Network, with PR-Inside and Top News India(!) reporting on the story.

John Barrowman will once again don his tights for an annual pantomime performance, this year appearing at the Birmingham Hippodrome for their production of Aladdin between 19th December and 27th January.

According to the show publicity, the production will also feature the Daleks in their very first pantomime appearance!

There is a special Aladdin website dedicated to the show, and full details on availability and booking can be found on the theatre's website.

Billie Piper has been shortlisted for a theatre award.

BBC News reports that she has been nominated in the Best Actress category of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her role in the playTreats, by Christopher Hampton.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Savoy in London on November 27. The event will be hosted by actorRichard Wilson, who played Dr Constantine in the Piper/Eccleston episodes The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances.

The National Media Museum in Bradford is honouring former Doctor Who script editor and prolific author Terrance Dicks with a career retrospective later this month.

Dicks, whose work on the show stretches back to The Invasion in 1968 and who was script editor throughout the Jon Pertwee era, will be at the museum to discuss his time in TV and work as an author.

The Terrance Dicks: Three Decades in Television and Beyond event takes place on Saturday, November 24.

The museum says the interview will be illustrated with rare photographs from its collection plus clips from shows Dicks has been involved with, such as The Avengers, Moonbase 3, Space: 1999, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, Vanity Fair, and Doctor Who.

The discussion will be followed by a screening of his 1980 Doctor Who story State of Decay, from Tom Baker's final season.

Click on this link for more details.

David Tennant can be heard interviewing Kylie Minogue for an hour-long programme later this month on BBC Radio 2.

The BBC Press Office says X-amining Kylie is to be broadcast on Tuesday, November 27 at 10.30pm, and will feature Tennant talking to Minogue about her life and work.

Minogue plays the character Astrid in the forthcoming Christmas special Voyage Of The Damned.

The radio programme coincides with the release of her tenth studio album, X, and will feature a track-by-track sample of it as well as an exclusive song.

The press office adds that a revised version of the programme, Re-X-amining Kylie, featuring extra material about Doctor Who, will be broadcast on Radio 2 after Voyage Of The Damned.